


Higher and Higher it Goes

by IcyPanther



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fever, Gen, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Sick Character, Sick Fic, Sick Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25956898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPanther/pseuds/IcyPanther
Summary: Lance is sick, but it’s nothing Shiro can’t handle while the others are away on a mission. Well, that was the case. Now Lance’s fever is climbing and shows no signs of stopping and Shiro is going to have to figure out something soon because otherwise... otherwise Lance is going to be in real trouble.
Relationships: Lance & Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 56
Kudos: 422





	Higher and Higher it Goes

**Author's Note:**

> **Timeline notes:** season one, early season two  
>  **Warning notes:** none

_Beep!_

Shiro frowned at the readout on the overly complicated thermometer Coran had briefly instructed him on, turning to the small conversion chart at Lance’s bedside.

Carry the one, divide by two, for some reason add point six and...

One hundred and two point two?

That couldn’t be right. 

“That can’t be right,” Shiro said it aloud, voice echoing in the infirmary.

“Sorry,” came a tiny response.

“Oh, no, not you, buddy,” Shiro leaned forward, uncomfortably infirmary chair squeaking beneath him, placing his prosthetic on the upturned shoulder and bringing his flesh hand around to feel out Lance’s forehead beneath sweat-soaked bangs.

Oh.

Maybe that was right.

But that meant it had gone up nearly half a degree in the last hour.

That wasn’t good.

Coran had diagnosed Lance with a viral fever and had him on fever reducer and one Shiro didn’t dare mess with the doses as space illnesses were far different than Earth ones but otherwise the prescription was the same as flus on Earth: fluids and rest. Coran had been caring for Lance for the past day, reluctant to let any of the humans get close lest they catch it too, but Voltron had received a distress beacon a couple hours ago and one in which didn’t require fighting but a more technological background.

Shiro had volunteered to stay behind with Lance as he wouldn’t be very much help whereas Coran most definitely would be for what was supposed to just be a few hour long fix.

But a few hours had turned into half a day and now it was going to be a full day, everyone not due back to the castle until tomorrow morning given Coran’s last check-in. And that hadn’t been an issue — Lance sleeping most of the day away even if his dreams had been filled with twitches and little gasps that couldn’t have been very restful, eating his soup and drinking both water pouches and the tea under Shiro’s supervision, and falling asleep watching a movie on Pidge’s donated laptop — until right now where apparently Lance was getting worse instead of better.

“Shiro,” Lance moaned, twisting away, “yur hand’s cold.”

“Sorry,” Shiro murmured, even as he followed Lance’s retreat, hand skimming down a just as heated cheek to where, beneath the thin blankets Lance had been allowed, a completely sweat-soaked long-sleeved tee shirt clung to the thin body.

This wasn’t just from a few minutes. This had to have been building over the last hour where Shiro had left the room — Lance was sleeping — to make himself a quick dinner (aka heating up Hunk’s leftovers) and take a shower after running up and down the halls a few times as he felt antsy from sitting around nearly all day — and God, he never should have left. 

Lance had stirred when he’d come back, a mumbled hello that Shiro hadn’t even thought anything of — he was definitely slurring though and how had he not noticed? — until now. 

Well, now he did.

And he just had to address it before it got any worse. 

“Lance, buddy,” he gently tugged the blanket away and Lance moaned, curling up into a ball on the narrow mattress, “we need to get some more fluids in you. Can you sit up for me?”

“Not thirsty,” came the response.

“Yes you are,” Shiro said, gently if firmly. “Come on now.”

He slipped a hand between Lance and the mattress and raised him to a slumped sit, made sure he was steady, and then turned his attention to the cooler with water pouches. Not overly cold but definitely chilled and what Lance needed.

“All right,” he popped the straw into the pouch and held it out, “drink up.”

Lance gave him a look that was maybe supposed to be a glare but it only looked like a kicked puppy.

“Come on, Lance,” Shiro bobbed the pouch up and down. “Then you can go back to sleep. I’ll even…”

What would be a good bribe?

“Let you pick the next training module.”

The blank expression continued.

“No dishes for a week.”

Nothing.

Shiro’s lips quirked as he could see a little sparkle to Lance’s. 

A tough customer.

“I’ll assign Keith bathroom cleaning duty in your place.”

Lance held out a hand for the pouch with a small smirk.

It made Shiro both laugh and give a sigh of relief.

See? Nothing to worry about. Fevers fluctuated and Lance had just been tired, a little disoriented. He was fine now (or, well, as fine as someone with a fever could be). 

Lance drank the entire pouch, quietly — and not just in volume, his eyes averted out of… shyness? — asked if Shiro would want to watch a movie with him — Monsters Inc., one of their three titles — and Shiro had of course said yes, pulling out a soft, sincere smile on fever-flushed cheeks.

Lance had settled down, propped up on pillows, no blanket — “ _Sorry, buddy,”_ but hadn’t offered much protest — laptop on his stomach, and Shiro pulling the bedside chair around by Lance’s head for the best view.

He was asleep before Boo even made an appearance.

Shiro had gently plucked the laptop away, smoothed a hand through Lance’s hair, checked his temperature — same as before — reset the cooling cloth on his forehead, turned down the lights and trundled over to his own cot, deciding eight in the evening wasn’t that early for bed for himself.

He was asleep within a few minutes.

xxx

Shiro awoke as he expected within a couple hours. He hadn’t slept well since… well, since the Galra and especially not on an uncomfortable bed like the infirmary cot.

He let out a soft groan as he sat up, the bed groaning with him, and cricked his neck as he looked across the room to Lance.

Lance, who even in the dim lighting he could see was twitching, soft, breathless whimpers pulled from him.

Shiro was at his side in an instant, fumbling for the thermometer.

A quick scan and conversion later…

One hundred and four point six.

Shiro blinked.

What the…?

This was not good.

Very not good.

“Lance,” he whispered, giving the boy a small shake.

Lance mumbled but didn’t awaken, not even on the second and third shakes.

His skin was hot to the touch.

He needed cooled down; moreso than the drink and cooling cloth and the removal of the blankets had done.

Shiro cast his eyes about the infirmary, landing on the bathroom door.

The bathroom where there was a small shower tucked away.

Shiro went to that first, drawing back the white curtain and turning the nozzle — nothing fancy like the ones in the living quarters — to on, setting the water at cool, not cold, as the last thing he wanted was to make Lance shiver which would only worsen his fever.

Water going in the background he hurried back to Lance’s side, giving the boy another gentle shake to no response other than a little moan.

Shiro set about stripping him of his sweat-soaked clothes, leaving his shorts on for modesty, Lance as pliable as a doll and other than his hand getting stuck in the sleeve there were no issues, and then scooped him into his arms — he was so _light_ — and headed for the bathroom.

Lance gave a little twitch at the movement but still did not awaken. 

Shiro had a feeling that would change once they hit the water.

God, he hoped it did.

If it didn’t…

Shiro stepped into the shower, Lance angled into the spray although he made sure the water was hitting the boy’s chest and legs because the last thing he wanted to do was unintentionally drown him.

Lance twitched at the water.

And then he was _jerking_ in Shiro’s arms, a noise somewhere between a moan and a shout pulled from his lips.

“Lance, hey,” Shiro gave him a small squeeze and Lance immediately stilled. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s just a little water.”

“Sh-Shiro?” 

Fever bright eyes met Shiro’s, confusion and exhaustion and pain clear.

And…

And trust.

Something warm filled Shiro’s chest.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Shiro tried for the most soothing smile he could. “I’m glad you’re awake. How’re you feeling?”

Lance gave a little shiver. “C-cold?”

Shiro reached forward and adjusted the temperature a hair warmer. 

“I’m sorry, buddy, we’ve got to stay here for a little bit. Just until your fever comes down.”

“Sorry,” Lance whispered, averting his eyes.

“No, no, no apologies, okay? You’re sick, Lance. I’m here to help you feel better.”

Lance shifted a bit in his arms, one of his hands coming up and fingers digging into Shiro’s wet shirt. “You’ll… you’ll stay?”

“Of course,” Shiro promised. “I’ve got you.”

Lance ducked his head against Shiro’s chest.

He still heard the muffled thank you.

“I’ve got you,” he repeated. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Shiro ended up sitting about twenty minutes in, his arms starting to ache from the hold, Lance now draped across his lap and both of them being pelted with the water, although Shiro kept a hand up to shield Lance’s face, combing his fingers through the damp locks.

Lance leaned into the touch like a cat and had he been one Shiro would have expected purring.

It made him smile.

They stayed there for over an hour, Lance drifting off to sleep around the forty minute mark. Shiro knew it was the cold water but he liked to imagine that some of the heat in Lance’s cheeks had dissipated.

Shiro squelched to his feet, turned off the water with his elbow, awkwardly grabbed a towel from the folded pile atop the toilet seat, and carried Lance to the exam table.

He remained asleep the entire time. 

Shiro gently lowered him down on the metal surface, wincing as Lance’s brow furrowed at no doubt the frigid metal, but stayed asleep and he blotted him as dry as he could with the towel, ending with rubbing it messily through Lance’s hair.

Shiro left him there as he went back to the cot, changed out the sweaty sheets for new ones, gave himself a quick towel dry after discarding his own shirt, and then picked Lance back up and put him into the clean bed.

Lance gave a sleepy mumble as he settled down and Shiro picked back up the scanner.

Please.

Please let the shower have worked.

The soft beep echoed and Shiro quickly ran the conversion.

One hundred and four point two. 

Slightly lower.

He let out a heavy breath.

Thank God.

The question was though was it permanent or just temporary?

Shiro settled back down in the uncomfortable chair, picked up the laptop, and resumed the movie while his prosthetic gently carded through Lance’s hair, drawing almost a nuzzle against it and a content hum.

A little over an hour later as the credits rolled he checked the scanner again.

One hundred and two point seven.

Lance’s fever had broken and it was now dropping.

He was going to be okay.

Shiro stood up, back aching from the chair, but that didn’t stop him from leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to Lance’s forehead, the skin still warm but not so much to the touch.

“Sweet dreams, Lance,” he whispered. 

And he sat back in the chair, pillowed his head on his arms atop the cot, and closed his eyes.

He’d told Lance he’d stay and stay he would.

And listening to Lance’s deep, even breaths, no longer plagued by whimpers and shivers, Shiro slept too.

**Author's Note:**

> Fic request of Lance + fever with Shiro caring for him. If you enjoyed the fic, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below (and the small details make my day!). _**Please, please, please**_ don’t just be a page hit or a kudo or a bookmark. Instead be an engaged, appreciative reader and leave a comment. Thank you so much to those who do. I truly appreciate your support ♥
> 
> 💥 **(Like my works? Want to read even MORE? Visit my[Tumblr, icypantherwrites](https://icypantherwrites.tumblr.com) for details.)💥**  
> 


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